Young West Coast forward Noah Long will miss the remainder of the 2024 season after requiring knee surgery.
While Long was able to avoid a dreaded ACL rupture, however, the second-year Eagle will go under the knife after damaging his posterior cruciate ligament.
The club made the surgery call this week after the 19-year-old hurt his knee in his side's narrow Round 8 loss to Essendon.
"'Longy' had a consultation with the specialist, unfortunately he needs surgery which will put a finish to his season,โ West Coast high-performance manager Mat Inness told the club's website.
Long's long-term absence will mean West Coast will have access to this month's Mid-Season Draft, with Long able to be moved to the inactive list.
Currently 16th on the ladder, the Eagles would currently hold Pick 3 for the mid-year intake.
Meanwhile, the club is hopeful of having senior trio Elliot Yeo (groin), Jeremy McGovern (internal) and Jake Waterman (concussion) available for this week's matchup with Melbourne on Sunday.
Inness confirmed McGovern is tracking well and will be a test, while Yeo is back training and will need to prove his fitness also.
โ'Gov' got the heavy knock over the weekend. We removed him from the game as a precaution,โ Inness said.
โHe's pulled up really well. He'll be a test later in the week but hopefully he gets up.
โ'Yeoy' has been training for the last week. He hasn't had any symptoms since early last week. He'll be a test later this week also.โ
The Eagles will lose speedster Jack Petruccelle to an ankle injury, with the Victorian facing up to three weeks on the sidelines with the ailment.
โ'Petch' had a really low-grade syndesmosis so he was taken out of the game. He will miss this week, possibly one or two after that,โ Inness said.
Ruck pairing Matt Flynn (knee) and Harry Barnett (shin) are both nearing respective returns and could be back in the selection over the next fortnight.
Captain Oscar Allen remains up to a month away from his knee battle, while young defender Rhett Bazzo is facing a similar timeframe as he eyes a return from a groin issue.
West Coast host Melbourne at Optus Stadium this Sunday at 6:20pm (AEST) and 4:20pm local time.
